Barrick is scrapping its unusual “co-president” management structure less than a year after it went into effect, as part of its efforts to become a more efficient gold miner. It will also continue to go without a chief executive officer, which is highly unusual for such a large company.

Dushnisky previously held the title of co-president along with Jim Gowans, who will act as senior adviser to Chairman John Thornton until Gowans retires from the company at the end of the year, the Toronto, Ontario-based company said in a statement on Monday.

Richard Williams, who was chief of staff, has become chief operating officer, reporting to the newly appointed president.

Another Barrick executive, Basie Maree, has been named chief technical officer, reporting to Williams.

The changes are the latest in a string of management reshuffles at the miner in recent years. Last year, the company eliminated the CEO role and strengthened Thornton's role within the company.

“As we work to accelerate Barrick’s return to the lean, decentralized model that drove the company’s early success, the time is right to put a structure in place that supports this vision,“ Thornton said in the statement.

Both Dushnisky and Williams are now the main executives responsible of assuring the Barrick reaches its goal of cutting costs by $2bn by the end of 2016.

Shares gained 2.4% to C$10.31 at 11.22 am. in Toronto, paring this year’s slump to 18%.

On 1 January 2019 a new Barrick was born out of the merger between Barrick Gold Corporation and Randgold Resources. Shares in the new company trade on the NYSE (GOLD) and the TSX (ABX).

The merger has created a sector-leading gold company which owns five of the industry’s Top 10 Tier One gold assets (Cortez and Goldstrike in Nevada, USA (100%); Kibali in DRC (45%); Loulo-Gounkoto in Mali (80%); and Pueblo Viejo in Dominican Republic (60%)) and two with the potential to become Tier One gold assets (Goldrush/Fourmile (100%) and Turquoise Ridge (75%), both in the USA).

With mining operations and projects in 15 countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Côte d’Ivoire, DRC, Dominican Republic, Mali, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, USA, and Zambia, Barrick has the lowest total cash cost position among its senior gold peers and a diversified asset portfolio positioned for growth in many of the world’s most prolific gold districts.